Tuesday, 6 July 2010

Writer's Bottom

My poor dog is unwell and hasn't been able to walk very far. The four mile walk I've done with him every day for the past thirteen years has come to an abrupt end. Now he pootles to the end of the street and back (taking about the same time as the walk used to).

And I've been trying to get this novel finished so have let the gym visits slip as I feel guilty about spending writing time trying to stop my thighs wobble.

The result? Writer's Bottom looms large on my horizon - and any one else who sees me standing.

There are many drawbacks to being a writer - insecurity, neurosis, RSI, poverty and so on - but not many people mention physical decline. Writing is a sedentary occupation. It's been shocking to realise how quickly you go down hill - my dog was diagnosed with cancer at Easter, which is when we stopped walking. That's only three months or so, but boy - what a difference.

I shall have to take action - literally. It's back to the gym for me!

Fancy a holiday in France with me? I'm teaching a week long course on Writing Mainstream Fiction at a fab chateau in the South of France in September. More details? Contact Chateau Ventenac.

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About Me

I've written five novels, the most recent being Kissing Mr Wrong (shortlisted for the RNA novel of the Year 2011) and A Single to Rome (longlisted for RNA Novel of the Year 2010). I'm a full time writer, but I also like teaching creative writing which I've done for the Universities of Oxford and Bristol, and for ASE which is a branch campus of Franklin and Marshall College, USA. I'm the Royal Literary Fund Fellow at the University of Bath - I must be growing up...
About a million years ago I was an actor and played Vicky, Rodney's girlfriend, in Only Fools and Horses. I divide my life between two of the most beautiful places in the UK, Bath and St Ives and can't believe how lucky I am.
www.sarahduncan.co.uk